Mahur Oriental - Burhan Öçal Istanbul Oriental Ensemble

Formed in Turkey in 1991 by multi-instrumentalist Burhan Öçal, the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble has kept to its original goal of recreating the feel and styles of specifically Turkish and Thracian gypsy music. The Ensemble, with two percussionists, relies on the traditional lineup of clarinet, kanun (zither), oud, and violin for its melodies. Growing up in the village of Kirkareli, some 100 kilometers outside Istanbul, Öçal was exposed to gypsy music from an early age, and became a true convert to the sound when a gypsy group played at his circumcision ceremony when he was six years old. As an adult he established himself as a musician adept on the darbuka drum, oud, saz, and tanbur, playing with artists as varied as the Kronos Quartet and Joe Zawinul, and playing everything from classical music to jazz to drum’n’bass. He put together the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble with the cream of Turkey’s Rom (gypsy) musicians -- Ferdi Nadaz (clarinet), Muzzafer Coskuner (oud), Sahin Sert (kan